RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ George Mason ended the close-game tendency of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Sunday, taking a 35-14 lead on James Madison and coasting to a 62-36 semifinals victory.

The second-seeded Patriots (17-11) came into the day having won just six of their last 11 games, but came out much fresher than the sixth-seeded Dukes, who upset No. 3 seed Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday.

Getting scoring from six players in the first 5:48, the Patriots scored 14 of the first 18 points and pulled steadily away.

James Madison (12-17) had 12 turnovers and shot just 5-for-20 in the opening half, failing to reach 20 points for the fifth time this season.

The Dukes also failed to record an assist in the half, finished with just four and were 13-for-44 from the field overall, or 29.5 percent.

Erik Herring led the Patriots with 16 points and three-time CAA player of the year George Evans, Jon Larranaga and Raoul Heinen each had eight. The Patriots were 25-for-52 from the field, 48.1 percent.

Dwayne Braxton had 12 points to lead the Dukes.

James Madison didn't reach the 20-point mark until Tim Lyle's 3-pointer with 13 minutes to play. It was the Dukes' only 3-pointer.

By then, the Patriots led 48-22, setting up their meeting with top-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington for the championship Monday night. The defending champion Seahawks beat Old Dominion 57-54 in the opener.